Bob Mould has announced The Ocean, a new digital EP featuring three solo acoustic live performances.

Originally recorded for NPR’s World Café at Mould’s Granary Music home studio in San Francisco, CA, The Ocean collects stripped-back versions of “The Ocean” and “Forecast of Rain,” both found on 2020’s critically acclaimed album Blue Hearts, as well as a striking rendition of the Hüsker Dü classic “Divide and Conquer” (from 1985’s Flip Your Wig). The EP arrives alongside a brand-new solo live performance video of “Forecast of Rain,” filmed last October at the Stoughton Opera House in Stoughton, WI, during Mould’s sold-out Solo Electric: Distortion & Blue Hearts! Tour.

“One of my special places is Ocean Beach in San Francisco,” Mould says. “Over the past twelve years, I’ve spent many early mornings walking the shoreline. There’s very few people at dawn: fishers, joggers with dogs, surfers. Depending on the tide cycle, the beach takes on different appearances—sandy sheets of reflective glass, ever-shifting playground for snowy plovers and other birds, ocean matter washed up on the shore. I think clearly when walking through the mixture of salt, sand, wind and water. The beach beneath my feet, waves as far as the eye can see, the twinkling night sky giving way to colorful morning light. The constant din of the waves does wonders for my tinnitus. It’s a grounding, soothing, calming feeling—a place to rest. And, there’s always the undertow—that chance of ending up in deeper waters. The Ocean is my homage to those visions, senses, and emotions.”